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Jump to navigationJump to searchWhy Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze? by Mick O'Hare (view source)
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{{infoboxinfobox1
|title=Why Don't Penguins' Feet Freeze?
|author=Mick O'Hare
|buy=Yes
|borrow=Yes
|pages=256
|publisher=Profile Books Ltd
|date=5 Oct October 2006
|isbn=1861978766
|amazonukwebsite=http://www.newscientist.com/|cover=1861978766|aznuk=<amazonuk>1861978766</amazonuk>|amazonusaznus=<amazonus>1861978766</amazonus>
}}
It's a good question, isn't it? Penguins waddle about on ice, but their feet don't freeze. The cover of the book suggests that this is because of a pair of stripy socks and some snow boots, but the truth is more prosaic. Penguins are able to control the flow of blood to their feet. In cold weather the flow is reduced and the temperature of the feet is held just a degree or two above freezing to prevent frost bite and reduce heat loss.
I think quite a few of us will be able to sympathise with the feeling behind that answer!
The publishing sensation of Christmas 2005 was [[''Does Anything Eat Wasps?]] '' and publishers Profile Books are hoping to repeat that success with this follow-up volume. [[''Does Anything Eat Wasps]] '' wasn't actually the first but the third book in the series and the latest volume includes questions and answers from the first two volumes along with some previously unpublished queries. With a total of 115 questions on a wide variety of subjects there's bound to be something there for everyone, young and old alike. Young readers seemed to have a fascination for all things nasal and their correlation with the size of fingers, whilst older readers might be interested to hear that hair doesn't turn grey but is that colour naturally, with pigment cells producing the colour of the youthful hair. Unfortunately, if you think your hair is getting darker, it could be that you're about to start going grey.
Some things I wish I hadn't known. I won't repeat the chemical formula for a human being, but somehow it seemed to take the romance out of life! It was disappointing too to find that the Great Wall of China isn't visible from space. I suppose it was only to be expected, given that it really isn't that wide and is in terrible disrepair in places, but somehow it made space seem a little smaller and more friendly! I was disconcerted to learn that there's actually a hole in the top of a parachute. It stops the parachute tilting to one side, but it felt like a waste of valuable air which you might be glad of.
This book was kindly sent to The Bookbag by the publishers, Profile Books Ltd.
{{amazontext|amazon=1861978766}} {{waterstonestextamazonUStext|waterstonesamazon=38243921861978766}}
{{commenthead}}
|name=Magda
|verb=said
|comment= I have been thinking about getting the Wasp one for a while but it always seemed too slight. Now, this sounds very good too. I wish I knew of these when making my last Amazon order which I needed bumping up to £15 to avoid delivery charge!
PS. I knew about the hole in the parachute!
}}
{{comment
|name=hazzzzel
|verb=said
|comment= Anyone with children needs books like this - both for answering their questions and appearing knowledgeable and, when they are older, letting them read themselves to fan their interest in the world and science.
The fact that you can dip into it when there are a few spare minutes is a bonus for both parent and child.
}}
[[Category:Trivia]]
